Sunday, February 13, 2005

Viral Threats: The dark side of anti-viral therapy is the potential of viruses to acquire resistance to the drugs. This appears to be happening to HIV:

Massachusetts doctors have treated several HIV patients with a resistance to some of the most commonly prescribed treatments, raising further concerns about a possible new, drug-resistant strain of the virus.

The patients' resistance to drug treatment is similar to a New York City case that has sparked widespread concern among public health experts, the Boston Herald reported.

Dr. Gregory Robbins, an infectious-disease expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, said doctors there have treated several HIV patients in recent years with early resistance to two of the four drugs most commonly prescribed to treat infection.

In the New York case, the patient quickly progressed to full-blown AIDS after being infected, an unusually rapid course. It isn't clear, however, whether the rapid course is the consequence of the nature of the virus or the nature of the man's immune system.

But it does highlight the continued importance of prevention in controlling the spread of HIV:

The victim in the New York case apparently had had unprotected sex with hundreds of men, often while using crystal methamphetamine, an addictive stimulant. One issue doctors are looking at is the connection between methampetamine abuse and resistance to the AIDS drugs.

'This isolated instance is a wake-up call to show where resistance is going and why we need to make sure people don't get HIV infections in the first place,' DeMaria said.